How to Study for the FE and PE

Plans, practice habits, the reference handbook and exam-day tips.

Passing an engineering exam is mostly about steady practice, not about reading more. These are the habits that help most people, in the order you are likely to need them.

Make a plan you can keep

  • Pick the exam date first, then count back. Ten hours a week for 12 weeks is a common plan for the FE; the PE usually needs three to four months.
  • Put study sessions in your calendar like meetings. Short, regular sessions beat one long weekend.
  • Start with your weakest topics while you have the most time, and finish with mixed review.

Practice more than you read

  • After reading a guide, close it and solve the practice problems on paper. Compare with the worked solution only when you finish.
  • Time yourself. The FE gives an average of a few minutes per question, so speed matters. Practice finding the data you need quickly.
  • Redo problems you got wrong a week later. A problem you solved correctly twice is one you probably will not miss.

Keep an error log

For each mistake write one line: the topic, what you did wrong (unit slip, wrong formula, misread the question, arithmetic) and the fix. Review the log weekly. Most people find that three or four habits cause most of their lost points, and unit mistakes are usually near the top.

Know your reference material

For the FE, NCEES provides a Reference Handbook during the exam. Download it from the NCEES website and use it for all your practice, so you know where each formula and table is. Do not try to memorize what the handbook already gives you; memorize the topics where you have to know the method. Use our reference tables and glossary to learn the concepts, then practice with the handbook version.

Calculator and units

  • Check the NCEES calculator policy and use an approved model for all your practice.
  • Learn the functions you need: logarithms, exponentials, trigonometric functions, solving equations, statistics mode and unit conversions.
  • Write units on every line of a calculation and check them at the end. Convert to consistent units (SI is safest) before you substitute.

Exam day

  • Answer the problems you know first, mark the ones you are unsure of and come back. There is no penalty for guessing on the FE, so never leave an answer blank (check the current rules on the NCEES website).
  • Sanity-check each answer: is the order of magnitude sensible, is the sign right, are the units right?
  • Sleep, eat and arrive early. Test center rules and what you may bring are on the NCEES website.

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